For 20 years, governments in Canada and the U.S. have recognized that the grizzly bear is a sensitive species in need of additional protection. While the U.S. has brought threatened grizzly populations back from the brink, efforts to protect populations in Canada have been an abysmal failure.

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has just released its second assessment of the status of Canada’s iconic grizzly bear. The report found that while many parts of Canada support healthy grizzly populations, 16 subpopulations in western Alberta and southern B.C. are at risk of continued decline and eventual extinction. COSEWIC concluded that the grizzly bear is a species of “Special Concern” that should be listed under Canada’s Species at Risk Act.